Winter Storm May Dump 8+ Inches of Snow on Illinois This Weekend

UPDATED: 6 pm on Friday, March 24, 2023:

The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Storm Warning

With up to 2 inches of snow accumulation per hour possible, a Winter Storm Warning will be in effect from 4 am to 1 pm on Saturday (3/25) for Winnebago, Boone, McHenry, Lake IL, and Ogle Counties.

Blowing snow and dangerous driving conditions are likely with wind gusts over 35 mph.

Communities in the warning area could get 5 to 8 inches of snow accumulation by Saturday afternoon.

It's officially springtime in Illinois, but someone hasn't shared the news with Mother Nature because she's still stuck in winter according to the latest weather forecast.

Northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin will start to get a wintry mix beginning late tomorrow night (Friday 3/24) and an 80 percent chance of snow on Saturday (3/25) with "heavy snow at times," according to the National Weather Service.

How much snow is possible in Chicago and Rockford this weekend?

The National Weather Service is currently predicting less than an inch of snow on Friday night and between 2 and 4 inches of snow accumulation for the Rockford region by Saturday night.

3 to 5 inches for Rockford is what the Weather Channel is forecasting.

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Chicago is expected to get up to three-quarters an inch of rain, but they expect to have "little or no accumulation" of snow, according to the NWS.

Parts of Wisconsin could get several inches of snow this weekend as well, with Beloit and Janesville expected to get between 3 and 5 inches of accumulation, says the Weather Channel.

Another chance of snow next week?

There's another chance of snow in the forecast for both Rockford and Chicago to begin the work week, but this doesn't look like the snowmaker this weekend's storm may be.

According to the Weather Channel forecast for Chicago, there's a chance of "a few snow showers around in the morning" on Monday (3/27) but there's no accumulation expected.

Rockford has a chance of snow showers during the morning on Tuesday (3/28), but the high temperature is supposed to be in the mid-40s so no accumulating snow is likely.

Is that the end of snow in the forecast?

The Weather Channel extended forecast for Rockford shows a 30 percent chance of snow flurries on Wednesday night (3/29) into Thursday morning (3/30) when high temperatures are expected to rise in the mid-50s so any snow that falls will quickly melt.